Spring bed-bottom.



No. 793,818.. PATENT@ JULY d@ 1905.

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SPRING EBD BOTTOM.

APPLICATION FILED AP11.24,1905.

karren drains Patented July llt, 1.905'.

Pareri einen.

liilleldmli'wf@ Wl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.793,818, dated July t, 1905. Application tiled April 24.-, 1905. SerialNo. 257,130.

Beit known thatl, Jeun FRANKLIN BROWN, a resident of Knoxville, titateof Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful lnuirovement in Spring'Bed-Bottoms; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and eX- act description thereof.

My invention relates to spri1'1g'-bottomsfor beds, couches, and thelike, and more especially to that type having a plurality of helical,conical, or double-conical springs set on end and arranged in rows.

My invention relates especially to a clip for 'fastening' together theend coils of adjacent springs, together with a comiectingrod cooperatingtherewith.

'lhe object of the invention is to provide connecting means for springsof the character described which are simpleand cheap to make, easilyapplied, which do not require theknottingl of the springs, which give aperfectly smooth surface to the spring-bottom, thus preventing thecatching' and tearing of mattresses, cushions, and clothing, and whichare self-adjusting, so as to accommodate themselves to springs slightlyout of true or of slightly-different diameters.

lo the accomplishment of the foregoing' objects my invention consists inthe construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andclaimed.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure .l is a plan view of a portion of abed-bottom constructed according to my invention. Fig'. 2 is a verticalsection on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line 38, Fig 1. Fig. 4t is a plan view of the blank :for the clip. Fig'. 5 isa plan view showing a modilication. ldig. 6 is a vertical section takenon the line 13, Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a vertical section showing stillanother modilication.

My invention may be applied to either a single or double facedbed-bottom. Thedrawings show only the upper face of the bed-bottom; butany bed-bottom having' the springs at one or both ends connected in themanner described and claimed comes within the scope of my invention.

My invention is adapted to any form of helical, conical, or double-conespring's.

the drawings l have illustrated cone-springs l, but this is a matter o lcl ioice. These springs are arranged in rows, as is common, and unitedby my improved means. The whole is surrounded by a strong' border wireor rod 2.

The special feature of my invention is the clip Il, which is formed froma ilat band of metal, liig. fl, which is bent into the form of an openlink, with the ends thereofoverlapped, and embraces the end coils ofadjacent springs, as shown in Fig. 2, in which the end coils of thesprings are designated by il, the body of the clip by 5, and theoverlapped ends by G. lhese clips or links are provided with openings(preferably slots) extemling transversely of said clips, an openingl i'being' formed substantiall y at the middle of the clip andcorrespending` openings tl and 9 near the ends thereof, the whole being'arranged so that when the clip is bent to link form these severalopenings will register. These clips are used for uniting the adjacentsprings in rows, lbut not for uniting' the springs of different rows,shown in Fig'. 1. rl`he connection of row to row is obtained by mytransverse connecting' member 11, which is formed from wire or a smallrod and provided at intervals with crimps or loops 12, which projectdown through the registering openings in the clips and are suitablykeyed therein. These connecting' members have their ends secured to theborder wire 2, and as theloops or crimps thereon project down throughthe clips they prevent movement of the rows of springs laterally.rlfhese connecting-rods will be secured to theclips in some suitablemanner. lnFig'. 1 l have shown for this purpose key rods or wires 13,which extend at right angles to the connecting' members 11 and arearranged on that face of the clip opposite to that on which saidconnecting' members l1 lie and are threaded through the projecting endsof the loops or crimps of said connecting' members. At their ends theyare connected tothe border wire or rod. The .rods or wires 13 lock orkey the connecti iig-wires tothe clips, and the parts are thereby heldagainst disr-nigagement. These key rods or wires 13 are desirable forspring'- bottoms which must be crated for shipment,

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the practice being to crush the bottoms down as fiat as possible. Thesekey-wires extend across the springs at or near the centers thereof andprevent the intermediate coils of the springs from pushing up throughthe end coils, and thus prevent the several bottoms from becoming lockedtogether in the crate. For bedbottoms, however, which need not be cratedfor shipment and in which this danger of locking together when severelycompressed does not exist these key-wires may be dispensed with and inplace thereof the end of the end coil of the spring will be bent atright angles to form a key member 15, as shown in Fig's. 5 and 6, whichwill project through the loop or crimp of the connecting member 11, thusserving to.

lock the connecting member to the clip.

In all forms of my invention the ends of the coiled springs are notknotteddthat is, the extreme ends are not coiled around the end coil, asis the usual practice. Vith the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 theend of the spring is secured in the loop or crimp of the connecting'member, whereas in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4 the ends of the springare bent downwardly, as at 16, and project through a hole 17, formed inthe clip. This does away with all the labor necessary for knotting theends of the springs and also dispenses with the roughness caused by suchknots.

The connecting-clip shown is very simple and cheap of construction. Itcan be made from ordinary sheet or band metal under a press which willcut it out to shape and simultaneously punch therein the slots 7, 8, and9, as well as the hole 17. This operation may also partially bend theclip to link shape. These clips are made of suiiciently soft metal sothat they can be bent to link shape around the end coils of adjacentsprings by hand, so as to bring' the several slots thereof intoalinement. The connecting' and key rods can be readily assembledtherewith. The resultant structure is one having' a smooth outersurface, there being no knots on the springs and no inequalities worthmentioning in either the springs, clips, or connecting-rods. As aconsequence there is no danger of the bcdclothing, mattresses, orcushions becoming cut or torn. These link-shaped clips are practicallyopen from their ends to the middle, so that the springs can adjustthemselves in case they should be slig'htly over or under siZe or nottrue circles. Tn practice the clips will preferably be pinched together,as shown at 18,

so as to embrace the end coils of the spring's,

and in case of an oversize spring the end of the clip will be squeezedtogether, thus holding the spring in place.

It will be observed that the clips described are used merely for unitingthe springs in rows, but are not used for uniting the springs ofadjacent rows. This transverse connection is gotten entirely by theconnecting members 11,

vessie whose loops engage the clips in such a manner as to preventmovement of the rows of springs laterally. By this construction onlyabout half as many clips are needed as with the clips ordinarily usedfor connecting' similar bedsprings. The connecting-rods 11, furthermore,extend transversely of the clips and lie in the space between adjacentsprings, thus filling up that space and preventing the sagging down ofthe mattresses or cushions in the opening's between each group of fourof the springs. By reason of this connecting-rod extending across saidspace and bridging the same it is possible to place the springs fartherapart than would otherwise be the case. The clips can be made of anylength, so as to allow for this.

Various modifications may be made in my invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof. For instance, the slots 7, 8, and 9 instead ofextending transversely of the clips may extend longitudinally thereof,and in that case the connecting-rods 11 would lie parallel with theclips, while the key-rods 18 would extend transversely thereof.Furthermore, the central opening' 7 may be entirely dispensed with, ifdesired, the clip being provided only with the registering openings 8and 9. This is shown in Fig. 7. ln this modification the loop 12 on theconnecting member 11 is comparatively short and the key-rod 13 liesbetween the body and overlapped end portions of the clip and engages theloops of the connecting member 11 in the manner illustrated.

Various other modifications will suggest themselves to persons skilledin the art.

`What I claim is 1. A spring bed-bottom or the like, comprising a seriesof coiled springs, clips uniting the end coils of adjacent springs andcomprising open links embracing the top coils of adjacent springs andhaving' overlapped end portions provided with registering openings, andconnecting-rods provided with loops or crimps extending through saidregistering' openings and secured therein.

2. A spring bed-bottom or the like, comprising'a series of coiledsprings, connecting clips comprising' open links embracing the top coilsof adjacent springs and having overlapped ends provided with registeringopenings, connecting-rods provided with loops or crimps projectingthrough said registering openings,and key members extending through theprojecting ends of said loops.

3. A spring bed-bottom or the like, comprising a series of coiledsprings, connectingclips comprising open links embracing the top coilsof adjacent springs and having overlapped ends provided with registeringopenings, connecting-rods provided with loops cr crimps projectingthrough said registering openings, and a key-rod threaded through theprojecting ends of said loops.

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vessie Lt. A spring bed-bottom or the like, cornprising a series ofcoiled springs, clips uniting the end coils el adjacent springs andcon1- prising open links lapped around the coils and having overlappedends and provided with registering openings in said overlapped ends andin the body portion thereof, and connecting-rods provided with loops orerimps eX- tending through said registering openings, and key membersextending through the projecting ends of said loops.

A. spring bed-bottom or the like, comprisinga series olf coiled springs,connectingTu clips Comprising' bands lapped around the top coils withthe ends thereofl overlapped and provided With registering openil'lgs insaid overlapped ends and body thereof, a connectiing-rod provided withloops or criinps projecting through said registering openings of theclips, and a key-rod threaded through the projecting ends oiAI saidloops.

(i. A spring bed-bottom or the like, comprising a series ol coiledsprings, connectingclips thereiior comprising open links einbracing thetop coils oit adjacent springs and having end portions overlapped andprovided with registering openings, connecting-rods provided with loopsprojecting through said registering openings, and key niembersextending' through the projecting ends oi said loops, the ends et' saidsprings being bent and projecting through a hole in the clips.

7. A clip for connecting coiled springs, comprising' a band having anopening near each end and one near the middle, said band being bent ontransverse lines intermediate the end and middle openings therebybringing all oit' said oivienings into register.

8. A clip for connecting` coiled springs, coinprising a band having' anopening near each end and one near the middle, and a hole intermediatethe middle and one of the end openings, said band being' bent ontransiierse lines intermediate the end and middle openings therebybringing the three openings into registcr.

9. A clip for connecting coiled springs, com prising a band having atransverse slot near each end and one at the middle thereof, said bandbeing bent on transverse lilies intel-mcdiate the end and middle slotsthereby bringing said slots into register.

ln testimony whereof l, the said JOHN lfnANliLiN l-nowN, have hereuntoset my hand.

J'Olxl'N FhfkNl'LlN BhINVN. iVitnesses:

Romina? (j. Terrien, (il. C. lariuon'i).

